Pick GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens or instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on ifeval, beating gpt-4o. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GPT-4.1 Mini is a cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Context window: GPT-4.1 Mini holds 8.2× more — 1M (~1,571 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 5 months (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-4.1 Mini
MAI-1-preview
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
April 14, 2025
August 28, 2025
Context window
1M (~1,571 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
23.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens: GPT-4.1 Mini — Its 1M window holds about 8.2× more than MAI-1-preview's 128K in a single prompt.
Instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o: GPT-4.1 Mini — A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini: GPT-4.1 Mini — GPT-4.1 Mini lists multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini among its strengths; MAI-1-preview does not.
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI: MAI-1-preview — GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch: MAI-1-preview — Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment: MAI-1-preview — GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode
Lowest cost at scale: MAI-1-preview — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of GPT-4.1 Mini's $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: GPT-4.1 Mini — Its 1M window is about 8.2× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 1,571 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: MAI-1-preview — At Not published it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: GPT-4.1 Mini — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens: GPT-4.1 Mini — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai: MAI-1-preview — That is its strongest area.
GPT-4.1 Mini: where it fits
A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. Released April 14, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o, multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini, and a full 1M context at flat pricing, with no long-context premium.
Its trade-offs are real: weak at agentic coding — its 23.6% on SWE-Bench Verified sits below GPT-4o's 33.2%, retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead, and a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode. At $0.4 in / $1.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
GPT-4.1 Mini and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; GPT-4.1 Mini holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for MAI-1-preview, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-4.1 Mini leans toward very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-4.1 Mini — 1M vs 128K, about 8.2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-4.1 Mini and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-4.1 Mini, MAI-1-preview and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 5 months after GPT-4.1 Mini.
GPT-4.1 Mini vs MAI-1-preview
OpenAI · US | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens or instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on ifeval, beating gpt-4o. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GPT-4.1 Mini is a cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: GPT-4.1 Mini holds 8.2× more — 1M (~1,571 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 5 months (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-4.1 Mini
MAI-1-preview
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
April 14, 2025
August 28, 2025
Context window
1M (~1,571 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
23.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens
GPT-4.1 Mini
Its 1M window holds about 8.2× more than MAI-1-preview's 128K in a single prompt.
Instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o
GPT-4.1 Mini
A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-4.1 Mini lists multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini among its strengths; MAI-1-preview does not.
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI
MAI-1-preview
GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch
MAI-1-preview
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment
MAI-1-preview
GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-1-preview
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of GPT-4.1 Mini's $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
GPT-4.1 Mini
Its 1M window is about 8.2× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 1,571 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-1-preview
At Not published it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-4.1 Mini
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens
→ GPT-4.1 Mini
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai
→ MAI-1-preview
That is its strongest area.
GPT-4.1 Mini: where it fits
A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. Released April 14, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o, multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini, and a full 1M context at flat pricing, with no long-context premium.
Its trade-offs are real: weak at agentic coding — its 23.6% on SWE-Bench Verified sits below GPT-4o's 33.2%, retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead, and a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode. At $0.4 in / $1.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
GPT-4.1 Mini and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; GPT-4.1 Mini holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both GPT-4.1 Mini and MAI-1-preview without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Is GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for MAI-1-preview, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-4.1 Mini leans toward very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-4.1 Mini — 1M vs 128K, about 8.2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-4.1 Mini and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-4.1 Mini, MAI-1-preview and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, GPT-4.1 Mini or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 5 months after GPT-4.1 Mini.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.